I made the mistake when I first met him of asking him the question, “How did you make it through all those years of suffering? And how did you survive?” I think that’s the word I used. I said, “How did you survive all those years?”

And he abruptly shifted. He’s a big man, and his shoulders came back, and he had this almost scowl on this face. He said, “I didn’t survive. I prepared.”

And I’ll never forget that. The idea that when life gives you something that’s outside of your control, it’s not about how to survive it. It’s about how you use it—how to use the cards that have been dealt you. - Anthony Robbins